RockinRarity

I actually like these shorts a lot. I think Rarity's is still my favorite but this was funny. Flim and Flam look really weird but it was still pretty neat to see them in the human world.

I agree that it doesn't REALLY matter one way or the other either. I just think it's a bit silly to claim that something is not canon just because of an insignificant line in an episode. Just like it's silly to claim that Hearth's Warming Eve is no longer canon because Fluttershy said in Filli Vanilli that she is afraid of singing on stage despite her doing so, confidently, in Hearth's Warming Eve. If it makes you feel better to believe that EqG is no longer canon, then that's fine. It doesn't make it true across the board, however. I personally work my way around that canon derp by saying that Twilight misspoke. People do that all the time and don't get corrected, even if they know once they think about it that what they said wasn't literally true. Also the comics may or may not be canon... not really sure about that one to be honest.

I was surprised that we had one 5 minutes from my house. It wasn't very well advertised though. It was just me and two other guys so I watched them play but I didn't get a chance to play at all. Ah well.

Anybody go to a pre-release event? Or at least get any cards from the Canterlot Nights expansion? I went and there weren't that many people, but at least I got a white/yellow deck and a bunch of boosters. So excited to have white/yellow problem cards now, as well as cards that are meant to work with white and yellow decks. Plus there are some really neat cards in there and I'm excited to play the game with my husband again and see if I fare any better against him. He beats me every time, although it usually is a pretty close game.

I still say that this is evidence for one way. Because there isn't really any reason to believe that Meghan has since changed her mind. If you want to ask her for final clarification, then go ahead. The Internet makes this possible. Bravo. Here here. Rock on. Cheerio. Insert other affirmations.

You don't think that they have contributed to the show at all? Crystal Empire = Cadance protecting the entire kingdom from Sombra's magic - if she hadn't done that then there would be no Crystal Empire. Luna visits pony's dreams. Celestia served as a mentor for seasons 1-3. I know that's not a lot but I think that claiming that they make no contribution to the show at all is wrong. Also Celestia tries to fight Crysallis but lost, which actually gives us the impression that perhaps she is not as powerful as she was before. I have a feeling, too, that Twilight and Cadance are supposed to take over for Celestia and Luna. Not every character in a show needs to be dynamic in order to be likable. As much as I know I would like to know the princesses more (particularly Cadance because, well, we hardly know what makes her tick because she is always seen as the perfect big sister), the show isn't risking cancellation by not giving that information to us... It is OK for a show to have a limited number of mane characters. It's what gives the show direction and it's what keeps moving it forward.

I like this theory. I didn't think he was totally "reformed" at the end of Keep Calm and Flutter On, he just had a reason not to turn the world upside down. Maybe that's why I consider it a good season 3 episode...

Since when did an understanding of forgiveness and a willingness to forgive people equal gullible doormat? Discord showed ACTUAL REMORSE for his actions. They even made it obvious in the dialogue. Discord: (genuinely sad) I'm sorry. Fluttershy: I know

OK so I love how you needed to correct me on this little bit but you address NOTHING ELSE from either of my posts. Like this: And this: Don't forget this: Look, I hate breaks in continuity as much as the next detail-oriented fangirl. But the best thing to do is to either explain them away without axing material, or, you know, stop caring. Well said. Just because one wants to erase something from someone's headcanon, it doesn't mean that it automatically means that what their headcanon says is going to be canon for everyone.

Or does it mean that the existence of Equestria Girls means that the line that Cadance says is not canon? Or that it makes the entire episode not canon? Or what about how in Filli Vanilli Fluttershy said that she was too shy to sing in front of people even though she sang on stage in Hearth's Warming Eve? Does this mean, then, that Hearth's Warming Eve is not canon?

It's entirely possible that Cadance forgot that Spike was with them in the Crystal Empire when Twilight went to the human world. Or that the writers derped. As if any other franchise has made perfectly aligned worlds with no plot holes or inconsistencies, ever. I mean my goodness, in How I Met Your Mother, there was an episode about how Barney doesn't have his drivers' license because he is scared shitless of driving, and several episodes later he is driving a car around and getting pulled over on purpose to flirt with policewomen. In Code Geass, Mao is shot at several times by policemen and is presumed dead, yet comes back in a later episode saying that it was because of the advances in modern medicine that kept him alive. Except that there are far more important characters who die from less severe wounds and the modern medicine couldn't keep these significantly more important characters alive. If you want to believe that Equestria Girls is not canon, then fine - make that your headcanon and be done with it. But one teeny bit of insignificant dialogue does not make something "no longer canon." That's ridiculous.

Interestingly enough, my mind has changed a little bit about this couple. Last year I was a pretty big defender of Flash Sentry as a character, but the more I think about it, the more I sympathize with the haters (although I still think that most of their reactions are extreme). I can't really disagree with you regarding most of this. Let me explain. Back in February, after hearing rave reviews about The Lego Movie from friends, I went to go see it. And it was a fun movie. It wasn't the masterpiece that people were making it out to be, but it was still fun. There was something in the movie that bothered me, though. The female lead in that movie was introduced in the beginning as a glamorous tough chick that the protagonist immediately became attracted to. It was obvious at once that she would eventually become his love interest. And while she ended up being a decent character and they made the trope not gag-inducing, but it was still there. And it bothered me a little bit that they seemed to make a female character merely for the sake of giving the main character a love interest, even if they tried to disguise the trope. Then, I realized that Equestria Girls did the same thing with Twilight and Flash Sentry. And it made me wonder, "So, why is it not OK to create a female character just to be a love interest to the hero, but it's completely fine to create a male character just to be a love interest to the heroine?" I don't think that it's wrong for Twilight to have a love interest. In fact, introducing a male character, knowing that he would eventually become a love interest to one of the female characters, but spent time developing his character before making it obvious that it was the plan from the beginning to stick them together, that's a bit different. Then again, there isn't really time for that kind of character development in a movie a lot of the time. The thing is that, even after realizing this about Twilight and Flash, it's not ALL bad. Take the following into consideration: - Twilight's character was not compromised because of Flash (she didn't become helpless without him or anything like that) - There wasn't all that much focus on the relationship - it didn't detract from the plot - And I say that as a good thing this time around because if it's going to be there at all, it should be minimal, otherwise it's stupid - The most they do is blush, he asks her out, and they dance. Then she leaves. That's it. I think that for how little they interacted with each other, it's OK that he was created just to be a boy for her. The trope is still annoying, but what rescues this couple from cliched horribleness is the fact that they DON'T "get together at the end." They share some moments, and then she leaves. Life goes on. You are right that Flash is a boring, flat character, and that any interpretation of his character beyond what was shown in the movie is simply fan interpretation. Hard to argue with that. But I don't think that makes him irredeemable. There are tiny quirks that set him apart from other stereotypical hot guys (the dancing at the end and his clumsiness is different from what one would normally see from characters like that). The quirks aren't enough to make him totally different from other stereotypical characters, but they can be used as building blocks if they want to expand his character in future episodes/movies. Also, as others have said, Pony Flash is not Human Flash. He could get a fresh start in the pony world as a potential love interest for Twilight. There is no way in the world a real relationship between Flash and Twilight could work with just what we have seen of him in the show and in Equestria Girls. His character would need to be expanded upon significantly, seeing him interact with characters other than Twilight, finding out what makes him tick, what sets him apart from other fictional characters... then we can evaluate whether or not a relationship between them would actually work. I am keeping an open mind for now. But, I do have a question... Why is it that people are saying that Equestria Girls is "officially" not canon? I have seen no such announcement by anyone anywhere. Some posts on the first page insinuate that people are reading into a part of the show that doesn't match with what Meghan McCarthy said about Equestria Girls having happened to Twilight... what was said that makes people believe that EqG is not canon? I honestly cannot figure it out.

Rarity has lots of hats... but this one from the MLP CCG is a nice fit. Everyone else has made good points about hats for the rest of the mane 6 - Twilight in Starswirl's hat, AJ in her hat (obviously), Pinkie in all her crazy hats, and Rainbow Dash in the commander or sports hats that people have been suggesting... But Fluttershy... Hmm... Fluttershy... Someone mentioned a floppy hat. I think I agree. It goes well with her manestyle, in that it hides part of her face to visualize her sheepishness. Although, this image of her with a parasol is lovely, too. (credit to the artist - found on deviantart here)

I can see that. And I do agree that having an over-inflated sense of self-importance is not exactly healthy. I think I see more of the "it's our show now" attitude indirectly - it is a little harder for a person to admit that they actually have this attitude. I think the majority of the adult fans understand that the show is not exclusively "ours." I don't think that's a reason to believe that we aren't a significant driving force for the show's success and continuation, though. Just because some people have egos the size of Texas, it doesn't mean that what they are claiming (that bronies are tge main reason the show is as successful as it is) isn't true. I do know that correlation does not equal causation. But because we lack significant hard data about the question at hand, we can only analyze what we have and hope for the best. Even if Hasbro the toy company doesn't believe that bronies make a significant portion of the fan base, the writers and creators of the TV show certainly do. Many of the show's staff have been to brony conventions, something that would not have existed if the fanbase of the show only consisted of little girls. When the creators of a kids' show know that they have an adult following, they take more risks with the content they put in the show, because they have evidence that the benefits outweigh any kind of consequence. Take season 4's finale. Tirek, the fight scene, the darker undertones (overtones?), the destruction of Twilight's house... first of all, could you imagine Spongebob's pineapple house being permenantly destroyed? The one episode where it did get destroyed by nematoads it grew back at the end... it's kind of a big deal that Twilight's home got destroyed. That is not only devastating, but it's a huge change! They do not just put that sort of thing in a kids' show if they feel that the audience is going to have terrible feelings about it. Adventure Time is going the same way. The early episodes are typical one-shot episodic adventures. But as the series progresses and the show gains an adult following, they add in an overarching story. The same thing is happening with MLP. Also, consider this - MLP: FiM is now officially Hasbro's longest-running cartoon, and it is still going strong. What could have possibly made it that way? There is no evidence that kids love MLP way more than they have ever loved any other cartoon. There is no evidence that Hasbro's decision to keep the cartoon going for 5 more years has to do with any guarantee that kids in the target demographic are going to keep loving the show in growing numbers. That may happen, that may not. What is really important here is that MLP lasted longer than 65 episodes. 65 is the magical number for syndication where a company can pretty much make bank with the show and continue to make money off it without making more episodes. If you consider the number of cartoons that have not even made it anywhere near 65 episodes, and the ones who have made it to 65, you will see that the number of cartoons that have gone past 65 is very small. I do not have the time right now to find out all American cartoons that have made it past that number and figure out the reasons why each cartoon made it past that number, but I suppose I could do that if people are still skeptical about what I am saying. My point is that if syndication is easy money, and if there is a reason that networks have decided that 65 is a good number for syndication, then there's got to be a damn good reason to continue making episodes of a cartoon beyond that point. It had better be worth the financial risk, otherwise there isn't going to be a very good payoff. The fact of the matter is that a consistent fanbase is what I believe keeps a show running. This is where the adults come in. There is not guarantee that kids won't grow out of a TV show and that a newer younger audience will be drawn in. When you have kids as a target demographic, it may be difficult to keep them interested in the show, because kids grow up fast. A girl who is 8 years old in October 2010 when the show first started is now 11 or 12 years old in May 2014. How many girls remember being in 6th grade and into cartoons? Personally, I was the only one in my class who still watched cartoons regularly. Heck, that was how I was in 5th grade too. I still liked cartoons but everyone else was into live-action TV shows and clothes shopping and stuff... still loving cartoons today, I think I was an anomaly. Most people become disinterested in "little kid" stuff by a certain age, and it isn't realistic to continue making a show if it isn't gaining a new audience. Things with MLP would be so much more up in the air, if my knowledge of human nature is at all accurate, if it only had little girls as fans to rely on for revenue. Bronies are adult fans who keep the show going strong. That is all I am really trying to say.

You are right that not all adult collectors consider themselves bronies, and that there were adult collectors ever since G1. But the sheer number of adult collectors, ever since G4 began, has increased substantially. It would probably be safe to say that the majority of collectors collect G4 exclusively. Before, MLP collectors were pretty obscure and definitely outside the mainstream. I do not mean to pick on you, but because you are the latest person in this thread to say something like this, I need to ask you: Why? Why do you believe that the show would still be going on if bronies weren't the large fandom that we are? I do not recall anyone giving an explanation for this argument. I only see people making guesses. Which I understand, because hypothetical situations are not always easy to predict. It's just that, personally, evidence for bronies being the main reason for the show lasting this long and still going on is abundant... I find it easier to believe that we are the main reason rather than to believe that we haven't made all that much of a difference. I have made my point already today about money, but I have other reasons as well. I have probably mentioned some of those earlier in this thread. But I want to hear why someone believes that the show would have 91 episodes and a growing girls' market without brony help.

Fair enough. Keep in mind, too, that not every single girl in 6-11 year old age is going to be into MLP enough to want any of the toys, either. Especially on the older end. It doesn't help either side of the discussion, however, that we don't have strict percentages of MLP fans who are part of the target demographic, and who aren't. But let's say that the numbers are the same - there are 8 million bronies, and 8 million little girls who have seen the show and like it enough to own some of the toys. The first time I did the math, I chose 25 as my number of $5 brushables because that is about how many I have. I chose 3 for the girls number to equal the number of MLP toys total that the girl I babysit has (I am also pretty sure that I owned 2 ponies as a little girl). I am still going to use a 100 person sample size for hardcore brony collector because I bet that if someone walked around BronyCon and asked a whole bunch of people if they have 25 brushables or more, or perhaps own the monetary equivalent of PVC figures, 100 might be a fair number. I will use 500 girls, though, to assume that more of them generally own toys. 100 * 25 * 5 is still $12,500 in revenue. 500 * 3 * 5 is $7500, which is still lower than than the brony revenue. But even if I changed that first number to 1000, sure that might make it spike to $15,000, remember that I am not trying to include the bronies who each one a smaller number of figurines, or the ones who prefer other kinds of merch, like plushies, trading cards, the Funko Pop figures, the vinyl figures, t-shirts, and all of the other pieces of merchandice that exist because of brony influence. They make a difference added up, too. Another thing to ponder - even if it turned out that kids produced more revenue for Hasbro than bronies, keep in mind that that $12,500 from bronies could very well be $0. That is still a significant dent in their revenue. Bronies are still making Hasbro more money. I think we could talk until we are blue in the face about whether the money comes more from girls or from bronies. It just doesn't make sense to me when you look at the charts regarding significant growth in their girl toy market, how is it possible for little girls alone to cause that growth? I am glad, though, that you have responded to my post with a logical explanation for the other side instead of basing your opinion on a hunch.

lol seriously? Think about what you just said for a few minutes. Kids and their parents aren't usually made of money. Raising children is expensive and it's pretty safe to say that, in this economy, parents aren't exactly throwing their money at Hasbro so that their kids can collect everything MLP. Kids are fickle and their interests change, so the toys that they have vary in high amounts. As an example, I babysit the children who live two doors down from my parents. The older child is a 6 year old girl, and the parents do have money. She has soooooooo many toys. I mean way too many. If I were them I would throw away about 75% of those toys because they sit in the basement and collect dust. But that's not my business, I'm just trying to make a point that this kid has tons of toys. Of all the toys that she has, she has 1 MLP brushable, 1 McDonald's toy, and a set of little G3 figurines (kind of like the "blind bags" G4 has). That's IT. But, bronies? Adult collectors? They likely don't have children. Either they are teenagers who make a little money and don't have to spend that money on bills or food, or they are adults, with no children, who are only really responsible for themselves. They can collect. Before I got married, I'm pretty sure that I have spent over $100 in brushables alone. The trading cards and the CCG, oh man, I'm kind of embarrassed about how much I have spent on those things. But it's a lot. The PVC figurines? I do not really buy the blind bags, but I have bought as many of the collections as I have seen in the stores. That's a good $50+. And I'm one of those people who tries to be careful about not overspending, lol. I know that not all bronies like to collect... but I'm fairly certain that out of all of us, there are hundreds of us who do. If 100 bronies each bought 25 brushables, multiply 25 by 5, then by 100. That is $12,500 in revenue for Hasbro. If 100 little girls each bought 3 brushables, multiply 3 by 5, then by 100. That is only $1500 in revenue for Hasbro. Don't think that the number of bronies is comparable to the number of little girls who watch the show? Well, according to the Herd Census, "between 26.6 million and 34.9 million people with some sense of "broniness" in the United States." While I'd gauge that many of those millions of bronies might not be collectors, the ones who are make up for it. Not sure if there is a study about how many of them collect, but there may be. Right now, in 2014, according to this: http://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/tables/pop1.asp There are 24.7 million children between the ages of 6 and 11 in the United States. If half of those children are girls, then you only get 12.35 million. Therefore, if we can reasonably deduce that little girls do not collect as much MLP merch as a brony does, and if there are far fewer little girls than there are adults who identify as bronies, then this means that bronies make up a much larger market than people may think. I am honestly surprised that there are so many people in this thread who do not think that bronies make that big of a difference when it comes to buying MLP merch. Having adults make up a fanbase for ANYTHING makes that product last longer than it would have if only kids were into the product. If you need proof, look at any other fandom of a children's product and find out that the ones with the large adult following are still ongoing, but the ones who do not have a large adult following have died.